My buddy Dave tried splitting a 14 inch oak round with a little camp hatchet last summer at his place up in Flagstaff. He whacked at that thing for like 20 minutes, chips flying everywhere, and the log just sat there laughing at him. Finally his neighbor wandered over with an actual maul, one swing, split clean in two. Dave just stood there holding his tiny hatchet looking like a fool lol. His uncle wasn't wrong, those things bounce right off anything bigger than kindling.